86 WORST JOURNEY IN THE WORLD 
on which to land our stores. We made fast with ice- 
anchors.”’ 4 
Scott, Wilson and Evans walked away over the sea-ice, 
but were soon back. They reported an excellent site for a 
hut on a shelving beach on the northern side of the Cape 
before us, which was henceforward called Cape Evans, 
after our second in command. Landing was to begin forth- 
with. 
First came the two big motor sledges which took up so 
much of our deck space. In spite of the hundreds of tons 
of sea-water which had washed over and about them they 
came out of their big crates looking “‘as fresh and clean as 
if they had been packed on the previous day.” * They were 
running that same afternoon. 
We had a horse-box for the ponies, which came next, 
but it wanted all Oates’ skill and persuasion to get them 
into it. All seventeen of them were soon on the floe, rolling 
and kicking with joy, and thence they were led across to 
the beach where they were carefully picketed to a rope run 
over a snow slope where they could not eat sand. Shackle- 
ton lost four out of eight ponies within a month of his 
arrival. His ponies were picketed on rubbly ground at 
Cape Royds, and ate the sand for the salt flavour it pos- 
sessed. The fourth pony died from eating shavings in 
which chemicals had been packed. This does not mean 
that they were hungry, merely that these Manchurian 
ponies eat the first thing that comes in their way, whether 
it be a bit of sugar or a bit of Erebus. 
Meanwhile the dog-teams were running light loads 
between the ship and the shore. “The great trouble with 
them has been due to the fatuous conduct of the penguins. 
Groups of these have been constantly leaping on to our 
floe. From the moment of landing on their feet their whole 
attitude expressed devouring curiosity and a pig-headed 
disregard for their own safety. They waddle forward, pok- 
ing their heads to and fro in their usually absurd way, in 
spite of a string of howling dogs straining to get at them. 
‘Hulloa!’ they seem to say, ‘here’s a game—what do all — 
1 Scott's Last Expedition, vol. i. pp. 88-90. 2 [bid. p. gt. 
bi 
